IonQ Harmony
Retired in 2024
With an #AQ of 9, IonQ Harmony was our first commercially available quantum computer, and a first for the industry.
Visualization: Harmony’s all-to-all connectivity graphIonQ QPUs are fully connected. The 11 points on the perimeter of the image represent Harmony’s 11 qubits. The lines represent the 55 potential entangling gates that can be run across those qubits.
Why Trapped Ion Technology?
Harmony uses an early version of IonQ’s trapped ion architecture, developed between 2018–2020. At launch in 2020, Harmony represented a breakthrough in gate fidelity for IonQ. Beyond Harmony, IonQ’s full technical roadmap aims to deliver the full suite of trapped ion advantages below.
Highest Gate Fidelity
Ion qubits have achieved the lowest gate error rate of any quantum technology.
All-To-All Connectivity
Any qubit in the system can be directly entangled with any other qubit.
Fully Software Configurable
IonQ’s trapped ion architecture can be configured to meet various computational demands.
Longest Coherence Times
Ion qubits have achieved the longest coherence times of any quantum technology.
Clear Path to Error Correction
We believe trapped ions will require fewer total qubits for error correction compared to other quantum.
Explore Harmony's Unique System Architecture
Explore Other Quantum Systems
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Our universally accessible, high-performing flagship quantum system
Forte
Our highest performing, commercially available quantum system
Forte Enterprise
Our rack mountable, on-prem system for production readiness and hybrid workflows with #AQ 36 and 36 qubits
Tempo (Expected in 2025)
Our commercial advantage capable computer for production applications
Compare Systems
Explore and compare IonQ’s industry leading portfolio of quantum computers
Harmony Specifications
#AQ 9
With Configurable Error Mitigation
#AQ measures the usefulness of a quantum computer. With Harmony’s configurable error mitigation, #AQ 9 means you can successfully run quantum algorithms of ~100 entangling gates on up to 9 qubits.
Learn more about Harmony performanceLearn more about AQ
The above figure shows the measurement results for the various industry used benchmark algorithms on IonQ Harmony
9
#AQ With Configurable Error Mitigation Algorithmic Qubits (#AQ) is a summary metric that counts the number of algorithmically “useful” qubits in a quantum system. Harmony defaults to running jobs without error mitigation, but customers have the option to turn error mitigation on, if desired. See this guide to learn how.
11
Qubit Count The number of physical qubits in the system. The closer #AQ is to qubit count, the higher quality the qubits in the system.
0.4%
1-Qubit Gate Error This characterization of 1Q gate infidelity is the 1Q randomized benchmarking error rate, as measured by Clifford Randomized Benchmarking and described in this paper. Although we do not expect a significant discrepancy, for consistency with 2Q benchmarking, IonQ is beta testing using direct randomized benchmarking to measure 1Q error rate.
2.7%
2-Qubit Gate Error This characterization of Harmony 2Q gates was collected using a concatenated Mølmer-Sørenson gate technique described in this paper. IonQ is beta testing reporting 2Q randomized benchmarking error rates obtained via Direct Randomized Benchmarking. This will provide more accurate characterization, be easily reproducible by customers, and be capable of scaling as our systems get larger. Developers can pull the latest DRB snapshot for Harmony using our API.
0.18%
SPAM Error The average error introduced during state preparation and measurement. Harmony's SPAM error is about eighteen parts in ten thousand (0.18%), and our new Barium system can do about four in ten thousand. More on SPAM and Barium
10–100s, ~1s
T1 & T2 Time Two factors of the amount of time a qubit “stays a qubit,” T1 measures how long you can tell what’s a one vs a zero, and T2 measures phase coherence.
Not Sure How to Get Started?
IonQ’s Applications Team Can Help.
The IonQ Application Team can support you on your Harmony journey. Quantum scientists can help you identify, test, and build quantum solutions for your business.
A Pioneering Quantum Computer
Learn About World Firsts on Harmony
Generating high resolution images
“In partnership with Zapata Computing, we've shown the ability to generate high-resolution images produced by a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm, achieving outstanding results with IonQ Harmony.”
Read Zapata Case Study
Simulating the water molecule
“Water is among the most complex molecules ever simulated on a quantum computer, and the IonQ system achieved a precision far higher than published simulations by other devices.”
Read Duke University Case Study
Solving analytical problems in the financial industry
“Multiverse powerful toolkit uses IonQ hardware to run a variety of quantum simulations and analysis tools, fair price calculations, portfolio creation and optimization, ETF replication, risk valuation that can soon give financial professionals a new analytical edge.”
Read Multiverse Case Study
Image recognition using Quantum ML
“QC Ware's quantum algorithm running on IonQ's hardware performed at the same level as the corresponding classical algorithm. The accuracy of the algorithm is expected to hold as the problem size increases without requiring error-corrected qubits.”
Read QC Ware's Published ResearchExplore Quantum Cloud
Harness the power of IonQ Quantum Systems from the cloud.
Application Support
Consulting services from IonQ's quantum scientists and application developers.
Learn About #AQ
A benchmark that measures what matters most: a system's value to your organization.